Cigar-Box-Guitar-O-Rama

  I came across a neat short-scale neck---kind of like a Fender Duo Sonic scale (22"-ish)---and thought it would make for an awesome build with one of my leftover Padron boxes.  I love the Padron cigar boxes, and they make terrific CBGs, but admittedly to my eyes they always seem (at least to my eye) to be a little on the small side (a little narrow from bass-bout to treble-bout). But knock a couple inches off the scale length of the neck, and it's a perfect fit!  This is a straight-to-the-point CBG loaded with dual-single-coil pickups, as well as the obligatory hidden piezo. An independent volume control for all three pickups, and a master tone control keeps it simple while offering tonal versatility. A hardtail Strat-style bridge gives it stability, intonation control and contemporary playability. All-killer, no-filler and ready to inspire!

  So my old buddy Cameron and I were catching up on things, and he hinted at being curious as to whether or not one of my CBGs could be implanted with a Music Man Stingray style layout/electronics. Now, what you folks who read these posts know already is that I love a challenge (within reason), and this idea was not too far out of scope.  From the get-go, I knew I'd have to use a wider box than my typical "Stick of Boom" bass models that I'd built using the long-but-narrow Man-O-War Phalanx and War Horse boxes (got to have room for the pickup's preamp and such), which I was able to find in these Gran Legado boxes. The GL boxes are quirky, but CBG crafting has definitely taught me how to use my critical thinking skills and pivot when necessary. So I went for it.  Using the last plank of my prized maple that was kindly donated last year (because I wanted this one to be STOUT), and using the same style 5-string neck as I did on a previous custom-built 5-string earlie...

  Okay, okay, okay...I've shown you a couple of customer builds based on "The Truckster", my own personal vibrato-equipped hotrod, but you haven't really gotten a good look at the OG yet. Well, here it is! This is one I built for myself, as something to show off and freak people out when I do the hired-gun or fill-in gigs. After all, what's a better way to demonstrate my builds than to play them myself??? Much like "The Goose" that I built specifically for use in W4WVK , I made this with some elements in common with my SG guitars, and instead of the proprietary "bass" pickup needed for when I'm handling those split guitar/bass parts in "the VK", this one has a normal humbucker in the neck. Coil-splitting on each volume for the two humbuckers (via push-pull pots), and a master tone control, plus a volume control for the hidden piezo discs that can get a cool lo-fi acoustic-y sound.  Where I used a short Maestro style vibrola on The...

  "Tay"-k 2? Tay liked his golden-hardware-equipped Truckster so much that he ordered a second immediately. This one he was sharing with his uncle, and was to be a hardtail version, but otherwise the same instrument. What an awesome nephew, right??? So I basically built a clone of Tay's, just with a Wilkinson top-loader "Strat"-style bridge instead of the tune-o-matic bridge and vibrato tailpiece.  Like with Tay's vibrato-equipped model, the "HT" still features a pair of Firebird-style pickups (with independent volumes, master tone and a 3-way switch) plus a hidden piezo disc with a volume control for the nasty lo-fi old-school CBG tones. As you can see, it turned out very nice, with all the same tones and playability as the previous one. I have to say, while I personally have never been a huge fan of gold hardware, it seems to really work on these, giving them an elevated classiness that just "pops".  The neck features matching gold spli...

  When my buddy Tay saw pictures of my "Truckster" build (I'll share that one with you guys later, it's pretty badass, if I do say so myself), I was asked if I could do a similar one, but with gold hardware. I figured, "why not?"  So I got to looking for some gold parts (some were easy to get, others had to come from specialty locations), but I wanted it to be as close as possible in overall makeup to mine.  From the knobs to the strap buttons to the corner protectors to the finishing washers, I wanted to make this "pop".  I did choose for this one to have one of my "regular" necks instead of the 3-on-a-side headstock like mine, just for consistency with some of my other builds that have started making their way into players' hands, and this one features matching gold split-shaft vintage-style tuners and string trees. A pair of Firebird-style pickups (with independent volumes, master tone and a 3-way switch), a roller-saddle bridge an...

  Not my first cigar box guitar I've made with a rubber bridge (my first personal build for myself features a rubber bridge--I'll have to share that one sometime), but this one's different for several reasons.  First off, YES, it DOES have pickups. Starting with a modified OEM high-output humbucker under the lid, which gets a LOT cleaner tone and overall decreased output due to the distance from the strings (the lid itself really has little-to-no effect on the magnetic field), which is going to the front volume control, and a pair of 1.25" piezo discs under the saddle going to volume control #2.  Secondly, this was a cool opportunity for me to use one of the stainless steel sheet tailpieces like I used on the acoustic project previously, since I just needed a simple anchor for the strings, nothing fancy, and it worked PERFECTLY as not just a no-nonsense tailpiece but also as a means to anchor the center-block to the box on the rear.  And thirdly, in a nod to the fad ...